Perspectives August 27, 2025

How technological advances contribute to designing patient-centric health environments

by Lara Kaiser, Principal, São Paulo

Emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are becoming more common in our daily lives. Widely used as tools for organization, study, and entertainment, these technologies are also driving significant advances in the healthcare sector. Although it might seem paradoxical, incorporating high-tech solutions in hospitals and clinics can result in more comfortable, human-centric spaces.

From task automation to data processing, the combination of information technologies and intelligent algorithms promotes rapid decision-making and more precise interventions. These advancements improve the experience of patients, caregivers, and professional teams in healthcare environments.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a field of computer science that mimics human learning patterns. By absorbing, storing and organizing large volumes of information, AI tools stand out for their potential to improve diagnoses, prognoses, and treatments, reducing risks to patients’ lives. The learning capabilities of AI algorithms lead to increasingly precise diagnostic hypotheses and support accurate clinical decisions.

The Internet of Things (IoT) can be described as a network of physical devices connected to each other via the internet, which includes sensors, actuators, accessories, information and communication technologies, storage clouds, and various other types of hardware and software capable of integrating the virtual with the real. This integration has revolutionized our interaction with technology, transitioning from centralized systems to more distributed environments. This offers vast possibilities for applications including accessories, homes, transportation, and even throughout “smart” cities.

Revolutionizing Healthcare Design

The combination of these two technological fronts will revolutionize healthcare spaces. New, large hospitals, like Sabará Children’s Hospital in São Paulo, are being designed to accommodate current and emerging technologies (more on this below). At the same time, we’re also seeing a trend toward decentralization after the COVID-19 pandemic. The growth of predictive care, home treatment alternatives, and telemedicine have driven a movement toward small, specialized medical centers and mini hospitals, which are now focusing on more complex cases.

By incorporating such technologies, healthcare designers can improve patients’ health and providers’ effectiveness. This is particularly significant when linked to humanized care and treatment practices, which prioritize comfort and well-being as fundamental elements of the recovery process. From reducing wait times to increasing users’ autonomy, technological advances must have a common goal: to improve quality of life for patients, their companions, and health professionals.

Render of a modern cylindrical building with vertical lines under clear sky, surrounded by trees and parked cars.

Technology in Action: Sabará Children's Hospital

An emblematic case is Sabará Children’s Hospital, which is expected to become the largest pediatric complex in Latin America. The hospital’s design integrates emerging technologies into a program that welcomes children undergoing treatment, their families, and the entire network of professionals who work there. Customization and technological accessibility are the main strategies: Sensors, actuators, and accessories help ensure the safety of the space and allow patients to have some control over their surroundings. While bracelets with barcodes increase safety in the hospital, virtual assistants such as Alexa (which uses voice-activated artificial intelligence) allow users to control environmental conditions—temperature, lighting and sound effects, for example—and interact with the medical team. This autonomy contributes to humanized treatments and more comfortable settings where the focus is on patient well-being.

Floor plan of the 3rd level for inpatient care, including room layouts and facilities.

Floor plan of the 12th floor ICU, illustrating room layout and design.

The multidisciplinary design team of the Sabará Children’s Hospital project explored several studies to understand the hospital’s usage patterns and propose solutions that improve health and working conditions. An important highlight is the preliminary research that calculated the distances that healthcare professionals need to walk daily. The team used the data to optimize the program with rational flowsthat are customized for the hospital’s demand. The same research also led to the development of decentralized nursing stations, which help nurses care for patients more efficiently, as well as private areas for medical team meetings, and multipurpose spaces for patients that promote autonomy and contact with nature.

All the solutions developed for this project revolve around ensuring general well-being, including task optimization, promoting contact with nature, encouraging patient autonomy, and welcoming families who accompany children undergoing treatment. To ensure these objective are met throughout the building’s useful life, the hospital was designed to accommodate current technologies and adapt to advances that are already emerging, like remote procedures and digital ecosystems. Future technologies can be incorporated into the hospital thanks to its robust infrastructure, which includes state-of-the-art plumbing, electrical, and network installations.

These technologies have also contributed to the Sabará Children’s Hospital sustainable features. The design team used artificial intelligence toolsfrom the start to gain a better understanding of climate conditions and to optimize the use of renewable natural resources, whether by taking advantage of natural light or using solar panels to capture energy. In addition, automated devices are used in building maintenance, from energy saving to collecting water for irrigating its distinctive and abundant vegetation.

How technological advances contribute to designing patient-centric health environments

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